Conversations on Dance

Tap dancing is inseparable from its relationship to music. In a live recording of the ‘ Conversations On Dance ’ podcast, tap master Leonardo Sandoval and bassist/composer Gregory Richardson of Music From The Sole will dissect that relationship as they discuss their work on ‘I Didn’t Come To Stay’, which will have its Vail Dance Festival premiere on August 2nd. This episode was recorded live on Ju...

Los Angeles Dance Project has been bringing a vast and varied repertoire to audiences in Los Angeles and throughout the world for over a decade, expanding the boundaries of dance and how the art interacts and relates to movement in the modern world. This live recording of the ‘ Conversations On Dance ’ podcast feature artists of LADP discussing the company’s return to the Vail Dance Festival, in i...

Author Jennifer Homans first made her mark ten years ago with the release of 'Apollo's Angels', an exhaustive work tracing ballet's roots from the Renaissance to modern times. Now she's back with a new release, 'Mr. B: George Balanchine's 20th Century', following the choreographer's life and work in one of the most comprehensive ways ever committed to the page. Homans sits down to with the hosts o...

Martha Graham Dance Company is one of the most storied and celebrated dance institutions in America and a Vail Dance Festival fan favorite. In recent years, the company has been steadily building its repertoire beyond the Graham classics. This live recording of the ‘ Conversations On Dance ’ podcast will talk with the company’s Artistic Director, Janet Eilber, about her storied career, working wit...

This week on Conversations on Dance, we are joined by Savannah Green, dancer with BalletX. Savannah was born and raised in New York City, receiving her initial dance training from Manhattan Youth Ballet. In 2017 she graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Political Science. She has been a member of BalletX since 2020. Savannah has been going to the...

This week on 'Conversations on Dance' we are joined by Philip Duclos, corps de ballet dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet. We talk with Philip about his training at the School of American Ballet and his first year in a company. He gives us a preview of what he will be dancing this year at the Vail Dance Festival, and tells us how he first came to be invited to the festival in 2021 while he was sti...

Today we are joined by the Artistic Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet, Peter Boal. We have had the pleasure of having Peter on the podcast a handful of times in the past, but today we were happy to get to speak with him about his new memoir which was released in June, 'Illusions of Camelot: A Memoir.' Peter tells us about how he built the concept of the book, what he wanted to convey, and the e...

Today we are joined by Dan Watt, director of the documentary, 'Everybody Dance.' After his career as a dancer and choreographer, Dan ventured towards a career in film and television, working with stars like Bea Arthur, Carol Channing, and Simon Cowell, as well as working at Colombia Pictures in film development for years. Dan tells us about his beginnings in dance, how he decided that he had stori...

Today on Conversations On Dance, we are joined by acclaimed ballerina, Misty Copeland, and Emmy Award winning TV producer and writer, Leyla Fayyaz. We talk to Misty and Leyla about how they first met as young ballerinas at American Ballet Theatre, reconnecting to create Life In Motion Productions, the stories they want to tell in their new work and their first short film 'Flower', which recently p...

This week we are joined by Tara Ghassemieh, Principal dancer with Golden State Ballet. Tara talks with us as she discovers her place within the world of ballet and uncovers a forgotten piece of Iranian history. She tells us about her film 'Persian Swan' which is her tribute to the Iranian National Ballet and how this mission has evolved onto the stage with 'The White Feather.' If you are in the So...

On today's episode of 'Conversations On Dance', we are joined by Emmy award winning choreographer, Joshua Bergasse. Joshua tells us about breaking into the theater world as a choreographer, how collaborating with other creative teams impacts his work, branching out into television on the hit show 'Smash', and the full circle moment of first performing in West Side Story and now staging the ch...

This week on Conversations on Dance, we are happy to bring you a chat with our friend, Damien Johnson. The topic of today’s conversation was suggested by one of our listeners who was looking for us to delve into male specific training and some of the issues that arise that are different from females in the field. Damien is a permanent guest faculty member at The School of American Ballet...

Today we are joined by critic, dance scholar, and former chief dance critic to the New York Times , Alastair Macaulay. We talk with Alastair about the incredible legacy of George Balanchine's 'Serenade'. Originally choreographed in 1934 for students at the School Of American Ballet, 'Serenade' has gone on to become one of the most beloved works of the 20th century. Alastair takes us through t...

This week on Conversations On Dance, we sit down with Charlotte Ballet director and international choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo. We spoke with Alejandro about his first season of programming for Charlotte Ballet, how important freedom and risk taking are to the choreographic process and his plans to make the company an integral part of the city's identity. If you are in the Charlotte area, you c...

Today we are bringing you another re-release from the early days of 'Conversations On Dance', this time with author Jennifer Homans. In this episode today, first recorded in June 2017, we spoke with Jennifer about the book she prior to 'Mr. B' titled 'Apollo's Angels' which chronicles ballet's entire history, as well as her own history as a dancer and her founding of Center for Ballet and the Arts...

Today on 'Conversations On Dance', we are joined by choreographer Justin Peck to discuss his new work for Houston Ballet 'Under the Folding Sky'. Justin talks about how seeing the art work of James Turrell in Houston provided a jumping off point, how he's waited for almost a decade to use the ballet's Phillip Glass score and what it's been like to explore an epic scale of dance in this work for 24...

We are going back into our archives from the first few years of the podcast and re-releasing some of our favorite episodes. Today we are restoring our 2016 interview with the legendary Balanchine ballerina, Patricia McBride to our feed, and if you missed it the first time, now is the perfect time to catch up. Patty, as she is affectionately referred to by her many fans, peers and students, tells u...

This week on Conversations on Dance, we are joined by author, Alice Robb, whose memoir, ‘Don’t Think, Dear’, chronicles her experiences as a young ballet student. We talk about the creative process for the book, her decision to include far reaching studies on pain tolerance, dancer psychology, and other subjects to give context to a dancer’s life and experience, and the book’s place in recent...

Today on Conversations on Dance we are happy to bring you a panel discussion on a very special project: the reimagining of La Bayadère. Joining us are Phil Chan, of Final Bow for Yellowface, Doug Fullington, dance historian and musicologist, and Sarah Wroth, Associate Professor and Chair at Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. The trio talk with us about the idea to reexamine La Bayadère...

We are going back into our archives from the first few years of the podcast and re-releasing some of our favorite episodes. Today is part two of our June 2017 interview with Edward Villella, Balanchine dancer and founding Artistic Director of Miami City Ballet. In part two, we focus on his founding of Miami City Ballet and so much more. Listen to part one here . Subscribe to Conversations on Dance...

On today's episode of 'Conversations On Dance', we are joined by choreographer, Omar Román De Jesús. Omar takes us through his early training in Puerto Rico, the leap of faith he took in moving to New York City and how his humble early choreographic beginnings have led to a Princess Grace Award and commissions from world renowned companies. Omar's first work for Ballet Hispanico will premiere...

We are going back into our archives from the first few years of the podcast and re-releasing some of our favorite episodes. Today is our first re-release: our June 2017 interview with Edward Villella, Balanchine dancer and founding Artistic Director of Miami City Ballet. We talk with our former boss about his career, dancing for Balanchine, the specific roles made on him, and much more. Part Two o...

On today's episode of 'Conversations On Dance', we are joined by Linda Murray, the curator of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the New York Public Library. We speak with Linda about how her passions for dance and archiving merged, the history of the dance division, curating the collection and how every individual can protect and preserve their own personal archives. Plan a visit to the dance d...

On today's episode of 'Conversations On Dance' we are joined by principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre James Whiteside to discuss his upcoming directorial debut film 'Daytripper'. James catches up to speed about his recovery from knee surgery, transforming his book 'Center Center' into a play and the creative concept and filming process for 'Daytripper'. You can stream 'Daytripper' as part...

On today's episode of 'Conversations On Dance', we are joined by dance videographer, director and producer Nel Shelby. Nel takes us through the entire creative process of filming Ballet Hispanico's performance of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's 'Doña Peron' at the Kennedy Center. She shares with us the challenges and rewards of helming this 15 camera project. The filming will premiere on PBS as part of th...